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Zuckerberg hit with $15.9bn loss from Facebook rout

Facebook’s $119bn rout on Thursday was the largest-ever loss of value in one day for a US-traded company

Facebook had the biggest stock-market wipeout in US history on Thursday, with shares tumbling 19 per cent and founder Mark Zuckerberg losing $15.9bn in a single day, according to Bloomberg. Dado Ruvic / Reuters

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Mark Zuckerberg lost more wealth in a single day than the entire market value of Molson Coors Brewing Co, or Nasdaq, or Ralph Lauren.

In fact, about 175 companies in the S&P 500 are worth less than the $15.9 billion that vanished from the fortune of the Facebook co-founder as shares of the social-media giant plunged 19 per cent on Thursday. Zuckerberg, 34, is now the world’s sixth-richest person with $70.6bn, down three rungs on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The loss is the biggest one-day wipe-out of individual wealth ever recorded on the ranking, which started tracking the world’s biggest fortunes in 2012.

Other big Facebook investors also took a hit as disappointing second-quarter results obliterated around $119bn of market value, the most ever in a day for a US-traded company. Co-founders Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin lost $3.9bn and $2.2bn, respectively, on the Bloomberg ranking, while chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg lost $100m.

Shares tumbled 19 per cent on Thursday to close at $176.26 after sales and user growth disappointed investors. The drop translated into a $119.4bn decline in market capitalisation, the largest-ever loss of value in one day for a US-traded company.